Illini hold off Vanderbilt for 69-63 victory

Friday

Nov 21, 2008 at 12:01 AMNov 21, 2008 at 9:04 PM

Trying to rebuild after setting the school's single-season record for losses last season, Illinois built a seven-point lead and held off Vanderbilt for a 69-63 non-conference basketball victory at Memorial Gymnasium on Thursday.

John Supinie

Winter just got a little bit warmer.

Trying to rebuild after setting the school's single-season record for losses last season, Illinois built a seven-point lead and held off Vanderbilt for a 69-63 non-conference basketball victory at Memorial Gymnasium on Thursday.

A team that was difficult to watch last season because of a inept offense, poor chemistry and a string of head-shaking losses won behind the offense of sophomore guard Demetri McCamey, strong rebounding in the second half and clutch free-throw shooting.

That's right. Free-throw shooting.

"It finally feels good to come home with a ‘W’ after a long year last year when we couldn't find a win,'' said McCamey, who finished with 23 points, six assists and only one turnover in his first start this season. "Last year, we couldn't win. Now we're finally winning. Let's keep it going.''

The Illini were able to hold a lead on the road and hit four free throws in the final 18.6 seconds. While ending Vanderbilt's 20-game home winning streak, maybe the Illini found a victory that built some confidence and energized their fan base. Perhaps they can make winter just a little more enjoyable.

The Illini improved to 3-0 and host Jackson State on Sunday (3 p.m., Big Ten Network). Just like last year's overtime loss to Arizona in December set the tone, coach Bruce Weber felt Thursday’s game could turn things the other way.

"You're building resume points,'' Weber said. "We won a game on the road and beat an SEC team. Even though they're young, they'll be a pretty good team. Last year, we lost the Arizona game after leading 39 minutes 52 seconds. That kind of set us back. Now, we find a way to win it and make some plays.''

Leading 65-58 with 4:32 left, Illinois missed seven straight shots. But senior guard Trent Meacham hit two free throws for a 67-63 lead with 18.6 seconds left. After a Vanderbilt miss, senior guard Chester Frazier made two more free throws.

Benched in previous games because of a lack of defense and intensity, McCamey reminded everyone that he's the go-to player who's ready to listen to Weber.

"The first two games, I had some issues,'' he said. "Me and coach bumped heads a little bit. Now we're back together. … Now I have to do what coach says. It's about family. That's what I have to do. He wants me to do this. He knows what's good for us. I have to listen.

"I don't care about starting as long as I finish the game and help my team win. It was just things young players do. You want to do it your way. It's not the right thing.''

Meacham scored 14 points behind 4-for-6 shooting from the 3-point line, and the Illini big men came up big in the battle with Vanderbilt star center A.J. Ogilvy. Illini sophomore forward Mike Davis had 11 points and 12 rebounds before fouling out, and sophomore center Mike Tisdale put up 10 points and seven rebounds despite playing only 20 minutes because of foul trouble.

Illinois hit all 11 free throws, and Frazier had eight assists, four rebounds and only one turnover.

Illinois ended with a 42-33 rebounding edge after grabbing 28 to the Commodores' 13 in the second half. The Illini found little scoring from the bench, but McCamey called reserve center Rich Semrau the "player of the game'' for some strong defensive play down the stretch.

Vanderbilt, which returned two starters from a 26-win team that lost in the NCAA Tournament first round, fell to 1-1. Ogilvy, who averaged 17 points, ended with 13 against Illinois.

"We have a lot of room to get better,'' Vanderbilt coach Kevin Stallings said. "That was a sorry rebounding effort on our part. They packed it in and dared us to make shots. We didn't make them.''

John Supinie can be reached at Johnsupinie@aol.com.

Illinois report card

Front court: A

Mike Davis and Mike Tisdale showed some potential by providing some offense and rebounding against big men with more beef. It's only one game against a team leaning on freshmen, but Mike and Mike answered a couple questions.

Back court: A

Demetri McCamey and Trent Meacham combined for 37 points. Perhaps even more impressive was that McCamey and Chester Frazier combined for 14 assists and two turnovers.

Bench: C

The Illini need to get Calvin Brock going. He struggled in two starts and didn't get much done against Vanderbilt. The best contributions came from some dirty work by Richard Semrau.

Overall: A

OK, so Vanderbilt is also rebuilding and leaning on underclassmen. But by hitting free throws, making a couple runs and playing just enough defense, the Illini found a way to win. After a game against Jackson State on Saturday, the next two tests come in South Padre, Texas, on Thanksgiving weekend.

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